Time Given for CollaborationBy Lonnie Wilkey
10/30/2013
editor, Baptist and Reflector

Transition Team report to be voted on in 2014; Luter message highlights 2013 Summit

BRENTWOOD — In order to help Tennessee Baptists understand the report of the Vision 2021 Transition Team and to provide time for more feedback, team members have voted to delay a vote on the report until The Summit in 2014.

Chuck Groover, chairman of the Transition Team and pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Mount Juliet, said that the Transition Team wants to address concerns expressed by Tennessee Baptists during meetings held across the state in October.

“As a result of questions received for clarification, we feel we need to spend more time educating our people on what the convention has voted to do — and that is to move toward an equal distribution of Cooperative Program funds with the Southern Baptist Convention while impacting lostness in our state,” Groover said.

“We really want to address the concerns that people have before we ask messengers to make a final decision on the report next year,” he continued.

TBC Executive Director Randy C. Davis agreed with the Transition Team, noting that he is a proponent of the Scriptural admonition “to come on no man suddenly.”

“It is not my desire that Tennessee Baptists be pushed to do anything but that they feel led in a cooperative manner that is true to our Great Commission,” Davis said. “We think there needs to be communications, clarity, and collaboration given to this report,” he added.

The TBC leader also noted that “we don’t want to proceed with anything that would cause us to lose sight of our priority of impacting lostness in Tennessee and around the world.”

Groover said the Transition Team will present its report at The Summit, to be held Nov. 11-13 at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, as they originally planned. “There may be some minor tweaks to the report but for the most part its framework will stay the same as it is,” he said. The only change is that the report will be voted on by messengers at the 2014 Summit in Brentwood, he stressed.

The Transition Team’s report contains recommendations which would implement Vision 2021 which messengers overwhelmingly approved in 2012 during the annual meeting at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett.

The Transition Team’s report was reported and printed in the Oct. 2 issue of the Baptist and Reflector.

The annual meeting portion of The Summit will feature an address by current Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Luter is believed to be the first sitting president of the SBC to speak at an annual meeting.

Luter’s message will be presented during the final session on Nov. 13. In 2012 Luter became the first African American to be elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was re-elected for a second term this past June in Houston.

The annual convention sermon will be delivered by Robert Gallaty, pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in the host city of Chattanooga. The sermon is slated to close the afternoon session on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

TBC President Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown, will deliver his president’s address in the final session on Tuesday evening, Nov. 12.

Pastor John Avant of First Baptist Church, Concord, Knoxville, will deliver two theme interpretations during the morning and afternoon sessions on Nov. 12 on “Vision to Victory,” taken from Habakkuk 2:2-3.

Officers

TBC messengers will elect a new slate of officers for 2013-14. As of press time on Monday, Oct. 28, only one nominee had been announced for TBC president — Larry Robertson, pastor of Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville.

No other candidates have been announced as of Oct. 28, but messengers can nominate from the floor of the convention.

Budget

Messengers will have the opportunity to vote on the 2013-14 proposed Cooperative Program budget of $36,500,000 (see budget chart below). The budget is $500,000 below the 2012-13 budget of $37 million.

TBC missions and ministries will receive 59.25 percent of receipts while 40.25 percent will be forwarded to the Southern Baptist Convention for national and global ministries.

Business

Messengers will have the opportunity to act on several recommendations from the TBC Executive Board, including a new partnership opportunity with the Send North America Denver Coalition.

If approved by messengers, the partnership will begin Jan. 1, 2015 and continue through Dec. 31, 2019.

Tennessee Baptists will work with North American Mission Board missionary Dave Howeth and the Send North America Denver Coalition to assist in church planting efforts.

Convention messengers will recognize some key individuals and institutions during the annual meeting.

Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year while the Tennessee Baptist Foundation is 75 years old this year.

Two entity heads will be recognized during the sessions in Chattanooga — David Dockery, president of Union University who will be transitioning to the role of chancellor, and Gary Coltharp, president of the Foundation who will retire in 2014.

Messengers will hear reports and act on recommendations from the Committee on Committees, Committee on Boards, Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and the Committee on Arrangements.

As always, messengers will have opportunity to introduce motions and resolutions during the miscellaneous business sessions on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

In addition, messengers will hear reports from entities affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention throughout the two-day annual meeting.

Breakout sessions

Seven breakout sessions will be offered on Nov. 12 during the lunch break. The sessions are $10 and include lunch. Messengers are encouraged to sign up for the breakout sessions online prior to The Summit at www.tbcsummit.org or on Monday in the information center in the exhibit area.

Sessions include:

• Praying Like It Matters led by Steve Gaines, pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova. The session will provide insights for pastors and leaders on how to lead their church to pray like it matters.

• 1-5-1 Harvest Plants led by Bobby Welch, associate executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The session addresses Harvest Plants, an extremely effective Great Commission ministry to win the lost, equip the saints, grow disciples, revitalize the local church, and bring revival.

• Preparing for Retirement led by Mike Ford, relationship manager for GuideStone Financial Resources, based in Dallas, Texas. The session will address the question, “I’m over 50. What decisions am I facing in the next few years?”

• How to Use a Chainsaw (and Other Social Media Best Practices) led by Bill Seaver, MicroExplosion. Attendees will learn about how to think about the strategic use of social media, discover the best practices that other organizations have used successfully, and then apply that thinking to any current or emerging technology.

• Foster Care: Impacting Children in Crisis led by Bryant Millsaps, president/treasurer of Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes. The session will discuss ways to impact children and families through foster care ministries.

• Why Israel Cannot Be Ignored led by Tony Crisp, senior pastor, Eastanallee Baptist Church, Riceville. The question “Why does Israel matter?” is an important issue in today’s world in general and the church of Jesus Christ in particular. The session will examine the spiritual and strategic reasons for supporting the modern nation of Israel.

• Reaching Young Adults led by Mike Glenn, senior pastor, Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood. The session will deal with vital understandings and practical application to reach today’s young adults.

Resolutions

Resolutions, including those sent to the Committee on Resolutions prior to the Convention, must be submitted during a business session only by registered messengers.

Resolutions must be submitted no later than the last miscellaneous business session (Tuesday afternoon) of the first day of the Convention.

Only titles of proposed resolutions shall be read into the record when presented, but the full resolution must be in writing and submitted to the presiding officer, recording secretary, and the Committee on Resolutions.

Individuals wishing to submit resolutions are encouraged to submit them prior to the TBC meeting by sending them to Committee on Resolutions, TBC Executive Board Ministries, P.O. Box 728, Brentwood, TN 37024.

Rules of Order (Bylaw II. B)

2. Standing Rules

a. All motions and resolutions shall be submitted to the presiding officer and recording secretary in writing, legibly signed by the maker and shall include the name, address, church, and contact phone number during the Convention, of the person submitting the same. Such person may appear before the committee to which the motion is referred to provide supplemental information and shall be available as deemed necessary by the committee.

b. In order to obtain the floor, each messenger shall approach a microphone, and when acknowledged by the chair, shall address the chair, give his or her name and church, and state the general nature of his or her reason for wishing to be recognized — (For example, stating whether he or she wishes to speak for or against the pending item, asking a question, raising procedural issues, or introducing an item of business). The messenger shall then wait to be recognized by the chair.

c. All messengers who participate in the business sessions of the Convention shall conduct themselves in keeping with the stated purposes in the Constitution of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

d. Discussion, debate, and nominating speeches shall be limited to three minutes for each speaker.

Additional Information

• Registration will take place in Room 16 of the Chattanooga Convention Center on Monday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.; on Tuesday, Nov. 13, from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., and on Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m.

• Child care will be provided by Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers for preschool children only. It will be located in the Marriott East/West Rooms (at the top of the convention center escalators).

• The convention office will be located in Room 17 of the Chattanooga Convention Center. The phone number is 615-476-0884.

• A number of TBC-related institutions and groups, along with Southern Baptist seminaries, have scheduled events in conjunction with The Summit. A list can be found on page 9. (Or visit The Summit website.)

View the original News article at http://www.tnbaptist.org/BRNews.asp?ID=4944